School Rumble
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese Shōnen manga series written and illustrated by Jin Kobayashi
. First serialized in Weekly Shōnen Magazine
from October 22, 2002 to July 23, 2008, all 345 chapters were later collected in 22 tankōbon
volumes by Kodansha
. Shōnen Magazine Special published a sequel, School Rumble Z, monthly from August 20, 2008 to May 20, 2009. A romance comedy centering on relationships between Japanese high school students, School Rumble focuses on a love triangle
involving the series' two protagonist
s, Kenji Harima and Tenma Tsukamoto, and one of their classmates, Oji Karasuma. The series often discards realism in favor of comedic effect.
School Rumbles popularity has resulted in its adaption into multiple forms of media. TV Tokyo
broadcast a 26-episode anime
program between October 2004 and April 2005. In December 2005, a two-part original video animation
(OVA) entitled School Rumble: Extra Class was released. A second season, School Rumble: 2nd Semester, aired between April and September 2006. Finally, two more episodes, collectively entitled School Rumble: Third Semester, were bundled with the Japanese manga volumes 21 and 22. Three video games have been produced—two for the in July 2005 and July 2006, and one for the PlayStation Portable
in 2005. Two light novels written by Hiroko Tokita and illustrated by Kobayashi were published in April 2004 and December 2007; four official guidebooks illustrated by Kobayashi and written by his editors have also been released.
Del Rey Manga
publishes the English translation of School Rumble. In the translation, Del Rey Manga maintained the traditional Japanese name orderIn Japan, family name
is listed first followed by a given name
. Japanese traditionally do not have middle name
s. to preserve pun
s based on the characters' names. Funimation Entertainment
published the first and second anime seasons and the Extra Class OVAs in English. School Rumble has been translated into additional languages, although the final two episodes, the video games, and guidebooks have yet to be released outside Japan.
The manga was well received by Japanese-language readers; several volumes have appeared in the top manga sales charts. The North American English translations were less popular, but still ranked several times in the top 100 as well as ranking 145th for overall manga series sales in 2008. Critics of the English-language translation have been positive overall, praising Kobayashi for his art style and overall use of humor. However, the manga has received some criticism, mostly centered around some of the jokes and repetitive plot. The anime adaptation also sold well in Japan and was praised by Kobayashi and—for the English-language translation—critics. The decision by Media Factory
to aggressively pursue its intellectual property rights
for School Rumble is believed by proponents of fansub
s to have had a negative impact on the franchise's release and sales in the North America
n market.
is Tenma Tsukamoto, an unremarkable second-year high school student who secretly admires her eccentric, enigmatic, nice-guy classmate, Oji Karasuma. Tenma struggles to confess her feelings to Oji. He remains oblivious to her interest, instead seeking fulfillment by indulging in curry
. The main male protagonist, delinquent
Kenji Harima, similarly yearns for Tenma, attending school solely to be near her. Like Tenma, Harima has difficulty declaring his love, and whenever he summons the courage to do so, circumstances conspire against him.
Harima complicates the love triangle
through constant bumbling, and misunderstandings among the students aggravate the situation. Harima becomes involved with Tenma's close friend, Eri Sawachika, after the pair are thrown together in mutually embarrassing situations. Later in the series, he develops a friendship with Tenma's younger sister, Yakumo Tsukamoto, who becomes Harima's assistant on a manga he writes. The plots of Harima's stories portray a Harima-like hero fighting to save a Tenma-like damsel in various historical or fantastical situations, usually in battle against an obvious facsimile of Karasuma. After the hero saves the heroine, she always falls in love with him. Yakumo's relationship with Harima causes problems with Class 2-C's student representative, Haruki Hanai, who has a crush on Yakumo, with the sisters' shared surname
causing Harima and Hanai to misinterpret the object of each others' respective infatuations.Japanese often address each other by their surname unless they are in a close relationship, such as with a long time friend, relative, or spouse. Although Harima manages to engineer romantic encounters with Tenma, her relationship with Karasuma nevertheless progresses, and Harima's bonds with Eri and Yakumo grow stronger. Eventually Tenma musters the courage to confess her love, but shortly after Karasuma loses his memory. His amnesia gives a purpose to Tenma's life; she concentrates on her studies to become a doctor and help Karasuma.
Although School Rumble focuses on Harima and Tenma, the series explores a number of supporting characters. These include Tenma's friends Mikoto Suo, who runs a kenpō
dojo
where her childhood friend, Hanai, trains, and Akira Takano, a mysterious and uncannily perceptive girl. As the story progresses, more major characters are introduced into the relationship web.
The series ends with Class 2-C's graduation ceremony. At this point most of the plot-lines are settled, but there is no clear resolution for the main protagonists. Karasuma still suffers from memory loss, and although Harima attends the ceremony with Eri, the status of his relationship with Yakumo is uncertain.
began writing School Rumble, his debut work, in 2002.In an interview with Kaori Shimizu, Kobayashi notes he started writing School Rumble four years previously. The first book was released in 2002, and the interview was taped around the time of the release of the Japanese volume 15 (although not released until 2007 on Japanese DVD). He stated to an audience at Honolulu's 2006 Kawaii Kon
convention that he started writing the series because he found the idea of a manga involving a delinquent falling in love interesting. Kobayashi's favorite character, Kenji Harima, is based largely on an amalgam of various friends, although he estimates "about 30%" of Harima is a reflection of himself. However, despite putting most of his personal feelings into the female characters, he stated that Ryuuhei Suga, a minor supporting character, is the most autobiographical. Most of the other characters are based on memories of former high-school classmates; Kobayashi recalled that he had no real idea of their voices when drawing them, and it was not until much later, when he heard the voice actors
' interpretations during the production of the anime series, that he knew how they should sound. He acknowledged that some characters are more developed than others; in reply to a fan question about the mysterious Akira Takano, he admitted that, despite the closeness he feels for her, he did not put much emphasis on Takano and planned to develop her love-life slowly. Kobayashi intentionally centered his story arcs around misunderstandings which he then resolves, since he believes "if there's no misunderstanding then there's no funny story." He claims that none of his stories are based on real-life events, although when pressed admits the possibility of some resemblances but without divulging specific details.
Kobayashi and his editors collaborated on the plotlines. Kobayashi would then draw the basic illustrations for each chapter before passing his material to assistants to finish. As the series' manga artist
, Kobayashi also designed the cover art. Originally, the fifth volume's front cover was to feature Akira Takano, but after re-reading the volume Kobayashi concluded that since much of its plot in that volume revolves around Karen Ichijo, she should be on the cover instead. Desiring to feature a male character, he placed Harima on the cover of volume six. Kobayashi designed a poster to commemorate the ending of the series with the final chapter of School Rumble Z.
An anime adaption of the series was never envisaged by Kobayashi, and he was skeptical of the project when first approached. Negotiations and preparation took some time, but he claims to be happy with the end result. On viewing the first anime footage, Kobayashi was astonished; he recalls in an interview his emotions at the time, stating "I was incredibly touched by it. Completely overcome." Impressed with the adaptation of his work, he praises the anime staff for their achievement, although conceding that School Rumble probably lent itself to the anime format. He cites the fishing episode, for which he supplied the voice acting for several minor parts, as his favorite.The episode is 25 of School Rumble: First Semester. The interview took place before the final two episodes in Third Semester were produced.
Kobayashi allowed the voice actors who voiced his characters significant freedom to interpret them as they chose. There were a number of cast changes throughout the production; Ami Koshimizu
, the voice actress for Tenma, had initially auditioned for the role of Yakumo, and between School Rumbles first and second seasons the voice actors for both Karen Ichijou and Yoko Sasakura were replaced. Mako Sakurai took over Karen's role from Yuuka Nanri
, and Aya Hirano
replaced Akiko Kurumado as Yoko.
The artbox design for Funimation's North American release of the School Rumble anime resembles a miniature metal locker, and each of the individually released DVDs comes with heavy duty magnets. The discs include subtitled interviews with the Japanese voice actors, which were compiled onto a third DVD for the full first season release. In 2007, Funimation ran a drawing contest prior to releasing the anime in North America. The grand prize included a new computer with software for developing anime and manga. The United Kingdom anime release by Revelation Films
saw the same limited edition box as Funimation, along with two standard editions.
's Weekly Shōnen Magazine
first published School Rumble in its 47th issue and serialized it from 2002–2008. It further appeared in issues of Shōnen Magazines , and comprised one chapter of the seasonal . The collected works were released in Japan by Kodansha. A sequel composed of side stories, entitled School Rumble Z, was produced from August 2008 to May 2009. Concluding the series, a compiled volume was released on June 17, 2009.
As a guide to the contents of each chapter, musical notations were added before the chapter number. In School Rumble, chapters marked with a sharp sign
(♯) concern the main plot development focusing around Tenma and Harima, while side stories
dealing with supporting characters are indicated by a flat sign (♭). The one exception to this pattern in the first series is the chapter that appears in Shōnen Magazine Wonder, which uses the natural sign (♮). Because the sequel explores the general relationships of all the characters, School Rumble Z uses the natural sign for every chapter. The manga volumes
of School Rumble contain original bonus chapters that use no musical notation; these are normally one page in length, but the seventh volume spreads its bonus chapter over several pages with each page telling a self-contained story.
Del Rey Manga
, in North America, and Tanoshimi
in the United Kingdom licensed School Rumble for an English-language release. It has also been translated into other languages, although the German-language release which Tokyopop
initially published was cancelled and later continued by Egmont Manga & Anime
. Del Rey released the first English-language volume on February 28, 2006, and the latest—volume 12—on April 28, 2009. Following Kondansha's lead, the Del Rey translation places the main plot chapters first followed by the side stories. Del Rey also retained the Japanese naming order to preserve puns and humor involving the names of the characters.
adapted the School Rumble manga for two 26-episode television sketch show series, and five additional episodes. The first season was broadcast in Japan from October 10, 2004 to March 29, 2005, followed by two original video animation
(OVA) episodes entitled , which were released on December 22, 2005. The second season, , ran from April 2 to September 24, 2006.
Although a third series——was drawn up in the form of 24 episode synopses, the series was never animated. Instead a two-episode mini-series was released as episodes 25 and 26 of School Rumble: Third Semester. The first 24 episodes follow the manga's storyline between the end of School Rumble: 2nd Semester and the Third Semester mini-series; the promotional videos of the mini-series on the anime's website instead of previews of a new season confirmed that the remaining 24 episodes would not be animated. The School Rumble: Third Semester episodes were released with special editions of volumes 21 and 22 of the School Rumble manga, the first on July 17 and the second on September 17, 2008.
School Rumble, School Rumble: 2nd Semester, and School Rumble: Extra Class were later licensed for an English-language audience by Funimation in North America, Madman Entertainment
in Australasia
and the first three volumes of season one by Revelation Films in the United Kingdom. On September 1, 2009 Funimation re-released School Rumble: First Semester and Extra class as a compilation. 2nd Semester was re-released as an entire season with a new rating of TV MA. The anime has also been released in other languages, and Funimation have made several dub
bed episodes of School Rumble and School Rumble: 2nd Semester available as streaming content on the Internet. The Funimation Channel
began airing the first season of School Rumble on September 1, 2008.School Rumble: 2nd Semester and the Extra Class OVA has also aired on the Funimation Channel
. The 2008's Future Film Festival in Bologna
, Italy screened School Rumble: 2nd Semester.
The anime's first season focuses on Harima, Karasuma, and Tenma, and Harima's relationships with other females including Sawachika and Yakumo. Its second season involves more of the secondary cast. The Extra Class OVAs are compiled from various first season storylines. Both the Third Semester synopses and episodes return to the main cast. The anime's structure has been compared to Azumanga Daioh
, with thematic influences from Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu
. In places it makes deliberate use of unconventional nomenclature; the title of episode 25 of season one is a set of pictogram
s, while episode 26's title has 187 characters in the Japanese original. In season two, the Japanese title for episode 26 consists of just a period
.
The narrative of the School Rumble anime is designed to mirror that of the manga, which results in multiple short story segments with no significant connection. Shown from the perspective of its characters—notably Tenma and Harima as they attempt similar ploys to get their crush to notice their affection—the anime uses absurdist humor which often combines elements of popular culture to explore the love-triangle, with jokes that work on multiple levels. One such example, highlighted by Lisa Marie, reviewer for Anime Today, is the bike chase scene in episode 1 of season one. She notes that while anyone can appreciate the chase's inherent humor, those familiar with Initial D
will find another level of appreciation that nevertheless does not interfere with viewers who do not catch the deeper reference. Lisa Marie comments "I certainly admit watching an insane bike chase cross paths with Initial Ds famous AE86 has a bit more cachet when you know why there's a cheesily rendered
race car in slow moving Eurobeat
."
albums based on the anime's opening and closing themes have been released, with all but the second season's closing theme having both a regular and limited edition. In addition, three two-disc drama CDs and three radio dramas have been released on CD. Eight image albums
—one for each of the main characters—have also been released, in both a regular and limited edition run.
On December 5, 2004, Yokohama BLITZ held a concert entitled , featuring the voice acting cast of School Rumble. The event was released on DVD on March 24, 2005. Announced around the time of the Japanese release of volume 15, from July 21 through July 25, 2005 a stage play called recapping Season 1 of School Rumble was performed. It was released on DVD on October 10, 2005. Unicorn Table, the soundtrack artists for School Rumble, performed songs from the anime from December 7–9, 2007 at the New York Anime Festival
, and again on April 26, 2008 at the Rochester Institute of Technology
in Rochester, New York
for the Tora-Con anime convention
.
awarded the game a composite score of 6.8 out of a possible 8.0. Marvelous Entertainment released a second game, entitled on July 20, 2006, also for the PlayStation 2. The story revolves around the School Rumble cast hearing a rumor of treasure hidden within a mansion. Two versions were produced; a regular and a limited edition, the latter of which included a drama CD, memorial album, and a special box with variant cover art. On June 28, 2007, this game was also re-released as a "Best Collection". , published on July 7, 2005 for the PlayStation Portable
by Bandai
. It has an original story based around Karasuma suffering a sudden collapse. Although the story centers on Tenma, the player can take the perspective of other characters to obtain clues for solving the mystery.
School Rumble has been the basis of two light novels and four guidebooks. The light novels, and , were written by Hiroko Tokita and illustrated by Jin Kobayashi and published in April 2004 and December 2007 respectively. They were later translated by Tong Li Comics
into Traditional Chinese. Jin Kobayashi and his editors also wrote and illustrated four official guidebooks for the series: School Rumble: Private File, School Rumble: Official File, School Rumble: Pleasure File, and School Rumble: Treasure File.
School Rumble has spawned lots of merchandise featuring its characters, including T-shirts and figurines.
bing. The directory website AnimeSuki
later removed all links to fansubs of Media Factory's work in response to a cease-and-desist notice issued by the license holder. Media Factory-owned anime has been the subject of debate over the validity of fansubbing practice. Proponents believe School Rumble would have more quickly received an English license had fansubs been allowed to circulate and generate viewer interest.
Similarly, the anime adaptation of School Rumble also sold very well in Japan according to the Oricon
charts. The Japanese DVD release of First Semester saw fluctuating sales for each volume with each charting within the top 45. have the best showings at five times at 15 and twice at 17 respectively, while the final three were the least successful with volume 8 being the lowest ranking twice at 45. While the 2nd Semester continued to sell well, overall sales did not chart as well as the previous season. Most of the DVDs ranked in the a range from 50s to 70s and all of them ranked just twice. Volume 1 ranked the best at 41, followed by volume 4 at 49; volume 6 ranked lowest at 100.
The Extra Class OVA also ranked once at 66.
The DVD of the voice actor's live performance, come! come! well-come Party, ranked once at 177 on Oricon charts.
Sakura Eries, also of Mania.com, gave volumes five, six, and eight to eleven positive ratings overall. She noted that volume five may appeal to readers more interested in the side characters, and that appreciating Kobayashi's humor in the second half of chapter eight "requires a bit more mental effort". In volume ten, she remarks that while Kobayashi borrows the oft-used cliché of a disastrous school play, he manages to add enough twists to make it unique. The play's climax, however, confused her more than it amused her.
Carlo Santos, of Anime News Network
, gave the English releases of volumes two, three, four, and seven mixed—but largely favorable—B-range reviews. Volume nine he awards a C rating. He approved of the character of Harima, particularly enjoying jokes comparing him to St. Francis of Assisi. Santos found the bonus chapters in volumes three and four, that deal with Yakumo, touching. On the other hand, he criticizes various aspects of the artwork and, by volume seven, laments the staleness of recycled jokes. Despite volume nine's strong start, by its end he relates that, although there were some funny moments, he had become weary of its repetitive plot. A fellow reviewer from Anime News Network, Carl Kimlinger, decided after reviewing four volumes that while the early volumes do not assist plot development, neither do they detract from the manga's appeal; he too had a positive impression overall. Kimlinger found the later volumes better and more entertaining, although not always during the romantic moments.
Chavez praised Del Rey's translation for retaining the manga's original identity; the header, bumper artwork, character biographies, and front covers are all but identical to the Japanese. Eries also thanked Del Rey's translation notes for clearing up some misconceptions for her, although she later concluded that their quality has deteriorated as the series progresses.
Beveridge cautioned that because the anime was designed around the non-linear format of the manga, its transitions might at first be troublesome for the viewer, but by the final volume finds the anime in all its aspects far superior.
While School Rumble is generally recognised as a shōnen title targeting the young male market, Katherine Luther, staff reviewer for About.com
, refers to it as a shōjo title aimed at girls and young women. Lisa Marie, reviewer for RightStuf's Anime Today podcast
, agrees that others, notably males, might see the series as shōjo. Luther calls the first DVD "the perfect back-to-school accessory", while Marie characterizes School Rumble as "insane", asserting it appears on the surface more laid back than other titles like Excel Saga
and Haré + Guu. However, it uses its "cast to break[...]every rule of reality, but it plays everything so straight [that] it takes you a moment to realize what just happened doesn't make any sense." A fan of the sub-genre, she praises the anime it for its surreal humour
, and for being "anime newbie friendly" in that its jokes work on multiple levels. Not all are of Japanese origin—such as a reference to the long triangular resolution of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
—giving the series broad appeal.
Anime News Network's reviewers found much to enjoy about the first series, although Theron Martin warns that the first DVD should be "watched in small doses, as trying to tackle too much of it in one sitting will elevate the suicide rate of your brain cells". Carl Kimlinger comments that "from the moment the words 'School Rumble' come spinning onto the screen, you know you're in for ... undiluted good times", and that the title is "two of the greatest animation non-sequiturs you're likely to see anytime soon". Carlo Santos praises volume six's bizarre comedy, but laments its romantic elements as being too generic. Overall, his rating is mediocre, saying that "although this disc technically marks the end of [the first season of] School Rumble, it's really more of a pause, seeing as how the last few episodes simply ride along with the plot rather than try to reach a dramatic finish". Reviewers from Mania.com followed this pattern; Dani Moure was skeptical of the series' long-term entertainment value, but like fellow reviewer Danielle Van Gorder, foundhis early indifference fading as the story develops. IGN
's Jeff Harris, N.S. Davidson, and David F. Smith gave mostly positive reviews, although Davidson believes the audio and extras had begun to wane by volume five. Jakub Lhota of the Czechoslovak Anime E-Zine rated the first season a 8/10, stating that he enjoyed it more than some other anime series he had previously watched, and the style—if not always the color—of Funimation's metallic locker artbox for School Rumbles English translation of the first season was welcomed.
According to Theron Martin, the OVA series School Rumble: Extra Class was made mostly for devoted fans; claiming that familiarity with the series is almost a necessity before watching it, although he later came to the view that it may also be useful as a sampler of the series. Chris Beveridge gives the OVA series an overall negative review. He did not highlight a single specific reason, instead observing that although all elements that "make the TV series enjoyable are certainly present here, they just feel weaker". However, it did make him want to watch more of the television series, thus serving its intended purpose in keeping interest in the series alive. Katherine Luther endorsed the view that viewers need to be familiar with the story, but reviewed the OVA positively. While she noted lulls in the action, she believes fans will be able to overlook this. Unlike Martin, Luther did not believe the OVA is a good introduction to School Rumble, due to its short sequences and seemingly random nature.
Zac Bertschy of Anime News Network declined to post commentary on the preview announcement for the second season, claiming "we assume if you loved School Rumble, you're gonna check out the sequel regardless of what anyone says, so why bother reviewing it?" David F. Smith from IGN gave the first part of season two a rating of 6/10, with lower scores for the Funimation extras and higher ones for the plot and story. Specifically, Smith praised the anime for never taking itself seriously, and the studio for not cutting its budget for sight gags—something he notes that other companies do. Tim Jones from THEM Anime Reviews found the second season funny and nonrepetitive, and Bamboo Dong of Anime News Network praised the second season for not conforming to the conventions of reality. He complimented it for focusing more on the other students and their relationships than on the main love triangle. Chris Beveridge claimed that, although it comes across well, the season should not be watched in a marathon sitting. He was more critical of Funimation's packaging, preferring the first season's metal locker boxart to the packing for the half-season sets.
Jin Kobayashi
is a Japanese manga artist. His most famous work so far is School Rumble, which ran in Weekly Shōnen Magazine from 2002 to 2008. His second serial manga, Natsu no Arashi!, began running at Square Enix's Gangan Wing in 2006....
. First serialized in Weekly Shōnen Magazine
Weekly Shonen Magazine
, also known as Shōnen Magazine, is a shōnen manga magazine published by Kodansha, first published on 17 March 1959. Despite some unusual censorship policies , it's mainly read by an older audience, with a large portion of its readership falling under the male high school or college...
from October 22, 2002 to July 23, 2008, all 345 chapters were later collected in 22 tankōbon
Tankobon
, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...
volumes by Kodansha
Kodansha
, the largest Japanese publisher, produces the manga magazines Nakayoshi, Afternoon, Evening, and Weekly Shonen Magazine, as well as more literary magazines such as Gunzō, Shūkan Gendai, and the Japanese dictionary Nihongo Daijiten. The company has its headquarters in Bunkyō, Tokyo...
. Shōnen Magazine Special published a sequel, School Rumble Z, monthly from August 20, 2008 to May 20, 2009. A romance comedy centering on relationships between Japanese high school students, School Rumble focuses on a love triangle
Love triangle
A love triangle is usually a romantic relationship involving three people. While it can refer to two people independently romantically linked with a third, it usually implies that each of the three people has some kind of relationship to the other two...
involving the series' two protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
s, Kenji Harima and Tenma Tsukamoto, and one of their classmates, Oji Karasuma. The series often discards realism in favor of comedic effect.
School Rumbles popularity has resulted in its adaption into multiple forms of media. TV Tokyo
TV Tokyo
is a television station headquartered in Toranomon, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Also known as , a blend of "terebi" and "Tokyo", it is the key station of TX Network. It is one of the major Tokyo television stations, particularly specializing in anime...
broadcast a 26-episode anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
program between October 2004 and April 2005. In December 2005, a two-part original video animation
Original video animation
, abbreviated as media , are animated films and series made specially for release in home-video formats. The term originated in relation to Japanese animation...
(OVA) entitled School Rumble: Extra Class was released. A second season, School Rumble: 2nd Semester, aired between April and September 2006. Finally, two more episodes, collectively entitled School Rumble: Third Semester, were bundled with the Japanese manga volumes 21 and 22. Three video games have been produced—two for the in July 2005 and July 2006, and one for the PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
in 2005. Two light novels written by Hiroko Tokita and illustrated by Kobayashi were published in April 2004 and December 2007; four official guidebooks illustrated by Kobayashi and written by his editors have also been released.
Del Rey Manga
Del Rey Manga
was the manga-publishing imprint of Del Rey Books, a branch of Ballantine Books, which in turn is part of Random House, the publishing division of Bertelsmann. It was formed as part of a cross-publishing relationship with Japanese publisher Kodansha. Some of the Del Rey titles, such as Tsubasa...
publishes the English translation of School Rumble. In the translation, Del Rey Manga maintained the traditional Japanese name orderIn Japan, family name
Family name
A family name is a type of surname and part of a person's name indicating the family to which the person belongs. The use of family names is widespread in cultures around the world...
is listed first followed by a given name
Given name
A given name, in Western contexts often referred to as a first name, is a personal name that specifies and differentiates between members of a group of individuals, especially in a family, all of whose members usually share the same family name...
. Japanese traditionally do not have middle name
Middle name
People's names in several cultures include one or more additional names placed between the first given name and the surname. In Canada and the United States all such names are specifically referred to as middle name; in most European countries they would simply be regarded as second, third, etc....
s. to preserve pun
Pun
The pun, also called paronomasia, is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use and abuse of homophonic,...
s based on the characters' names. Funimation Entertainment
Funimation Entertainment
Funimation is an American entertainment company. Originally founded in 1994 by Gen Fukunaga, the company became a subsidiary of Navarre Corporation on May 11, 2005...
published the first and second anime seasons and the Extra Class OVAs in English. School Rumble has been translated into additional languages, although the final two episodes, the video games, and guidebooks have yet to be released outside Japan.
The manga was well received by Japanese-language readers; several volumes have appeared in the top manga sales charts. The North American English translations were less popular, but still ranked several times in the top 100 as well as ranking 145th for overall manga series sales in 2008. Critics of the English-language translation have been positive overall, praising Kobayashi for his art style and overall use of humor. However, the manga has received some criticism, mostly centered around some of the jokes and repetitive plot. The anime adaptation also sold well in Japan and was praised by Kobayashi and—for the English-language translation—critics. The decision by Media Factory
Media Factory
is a Japanese publisher. It was founded on December 1, 1986, and its headquarters are situated in Shibuya, Tokyo. It is a subsidiary of Recruit Co., Ltd...
to aggressively pursue its intellectual property rights
Intellectual property
Intellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
for School Rumble is believed by proponents of fansub
Fansub
A fansub is a version of a foreign film or foreign television program which has been translated by fans and subtitled into a language other than that of the original.-History:...
s to have had a negative impact on the franchise's release and sales in the North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n market.
Plot
School Rumble is a romantic comedy revolving around the daily lives of the students of Class 2-C at the fictional Yagami High School, as well as their friends and families. The main female protagonistProtagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
is Tenma Tsukamoto, an unremarkable second-year high school student who secretly admires her eccentric, enigmatic, nice-guy classmate, Oji Karasuma. Tenma struggles to confess her feelings to Oji. He remains oblivious to her interest, instead seeking fulfillment by indulging in curry
Curry
Curry is a generic description used throughout Western culture to describe a variety of dishes from Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, Thai or other Southeast Asian cuisines...
. The main male protagonist, delinquent
Juvenile delinquency
Juvenile delinquency is participation in illegal behavior by minors who fall under a statutory age limit. Most legal systems prescribe specific procedures for dealing with juveniles, such as juvenile detention centers. There are a multitude of different theories on the causes of crime, most if not...
Kenji Harima, similarly yearns for Tenma, attending school solely to be near her. Like Tenma, Harima has difficulty declaring his love, and whenever he summons the courage to do so, circumstances conspire against him.
Harima complicates the love triangle
Love triangle
A love triangle is usually a romantic relationship involving three people. While it can refer to two people independently romantically linked with a third, it usually implies that each of the three people has some kind of relationship to the other two...
through constant bumbling, and misunderstandings among the students aggravate the situation. Harima becomes involved with Tenma's close friend, Eri Sawachika, after the pair are thrown together in mutually embarrassing situations. Later in the series, he develops a friendship with Tenma's younger sister, Yakumo Tsukamoto, who becomes Harima's assistant on a manga he writes. The plots of Harima's stories portray a Harima-like hero fighting to save a Tenma-like damsel in various historical or fantastical situations, usually in battle against an obvious facsimile of Karasuma. After the hero saves the heroine, she always falls in love with him. Yakumo's relationship with Harima causes problems with Class 2-C's student representative, Haruki Hanai, who has a crush on Yakumo, with the sisters' shared surname
Surname
A surname is a name added to a given name and is part of a personal name. In many cases, a surname is a family name. Many dictionaries define "surname" as a synonym of "family name"...
causing Harima and Hanai to misinterpret the object of each others' respective infatuations.Japanese often address each other by their surname unless they are in a close relationship, such as with a long time friend, relative, or spouse. Although Harima manages to engineer romantic encounters with Tenma, her relationship with Karasuma nevertheless progresses, and Harima's bonds with Eri and Yakumo grow stronger. Eventually Tenma musters the courage to confess her love, but shortly after Karasuma loses his memory. His amnesia gives a purpose to Tenma's life; she concentrates on her studies to become a doctor and help Karasuma.
Although School Rumble focuses on Harima and Tenma, the series explores a number of supporting characters. These include Tenma's friends Mikoto Suo, who runs a kenpō
Kenpo
is the name of several Japanese martial arts. The word kenpō is a Japanese translation of the Chinese word "quánfǎ. This term is often informally transliterated as "kempo", as a result of applying Traditional Hepburn romanization, but failing to use a macron to indicate the long vowel...
dojo
Dojo
A is a Japanese term which literally means "place of the way". Initially, dōjōs were adjunct to temples. The term can refer to a formal training place for any of the Japanese do arts but typically it is considered the formal gathering place for students of any Japanese martial arts style to...
where her childhood friend, Hanai, trains, and Akira Takano, a mysterious and uncannily perceptive girl. As the story progresses, more major characters are introduced into the relationship web.
The series ends with Class 2-C's graduation ceremony. At this point most of the plot-lines are settled, but there is no clear resolution for the main protagonists. Karasuma still suffers from memory loss, and although Harima attends the ceremony with Eri, the status of his relationship with Yakumo is uncertain.
Development and production
Jin KobayashiJin Kobayashi
is a Japanese manga artist. His most famous work so far is School Rumble, which ran in Weekly Shōnen Magazine from 2002 to 2008. His second serial manga, Natsu no Arashi!, began running at Square Enix's Gangan Wing in 2006....
began writing School Rumble, his debut work, in 2002.In an interview with Kaori Shimizu, Kobayashi notes he started writing School Rumble four years previously. The first book was released in 2002, and the interview was taped around the time of the release of the Japanese volume 15 (although not released until 2007 on Japanese DVD). He stated to an audience at Honolulu's 2006 Kawaii Kon
Kawaii Kon
Kawaii Kon is an anime convention geared towards Japanese animation and comics held in the Honolulu area.Kawaii Kon was founded by Gamers Evolution Expo, LLC., a company started by Stan Dahlin, Marlon Stodghill and Scott Richardson. Dahlin is a Hawaii native himself, who was at the time based out...
convention that he started writing the series because he found the idea of a manga involving a delinquent falling in love interesting. Kobayashi's favorite character, Kenji Harima, is based largely on an amalgam of various friends, although he estimates "about 30%" of Harima is a reflection of himself. However, despite putting most of his personal feelings into the female characters, he stated that Ryuuhei Suga, a minor supporting character, is the most autobiographical. Most of the other characters are based on memories of former high-school classmates; Kobayashi recalled that he had no real idea of their voices when drawing them, and it was not until much later, when he heard the voice actors
Seiyu
Voice acting in Japan has far greater prominence than in most other countries. Japan's large animation industry produces 60% of the animated series in the world; as a result, Japanese voice actors, or , are able to achieve fame on a national and international level.Besides acting as narrators and...
' interpretations during the production of the anime series, that he knew how they should sound. He acknowledged that some characters are more developed than others; in reply to a fan question about the mysterious Akira Takano, he admitted that, despite the closeness he feels for her, he did not put much emphasis on Takano and planned to develop her love-life slowly. Kobayashi intentionally centered his story arcs around misunderstandings which he then resolves, since he believes "if there's no misunderstanding then there's no funny story." He claims that none of his stories are based on real-life events, although when pressed admits the possibility of some resemblances but without divulging specific details.
Kobayashi and his editors collaborated on the plotlines. Kobayashi would then draw the basic illustrations for each chapter before passing his material to assistants to finish. As the series' manga artist
Mangaka
is the Japanese word for a comic artist or cartoonist. Outside of Japan, manga usually refers to a Japanese comic book and mangaka refers to the author of the manga, who is usually Japanese...
, Kobayashi also designed the cover art. Originally, the fifth volume's front cover was to feature Akira Takano, but after re-reading the volume Kobayashi concluded that since much of its plot in that volume revolves around Karen Ichijo, she should be on the cover instead. Desiring to feature a male character, he placed Harima on the cover of volume six. Kobayashi designed a poster to commemorate the ending of the series with the final chapter of School Rumble Z.
An anime adaption of the series was never envisaged by Kobayashi, and he was skeptical of the project when first approached. Negotiations and preparation took some time, but he claims to be happy with the end result. On viewing the first anime footage, Kobayashi was astonished; he recalls in an interview his emotions at the time, stating "I was incredibly touched by it. Completely overcome." Impressed with the adaptation of his work, he praises the anime staff for their achievement, although conceding that School Rumble probably lent itself to the anime format. He cites the fishing episode, for which he supplied the voice acting for several minor parts, as his favorite.The episode is 25 of School Rumble: First Semester. The interview took place before the final two episodes in Third Semester were produced.
Kobayashi allowed the voice actors who voiced his characters significant freedom to interpret them as they chose. There were a number of cast changes throughout the production; Ami Koshimizu
Ami Koshimizu
is a Japanese voice actress affiliated with Production Baobab management. She was born in the city of Kokubunji in Tokyo Prefecture. She is an award winning voice actress.-Career:*She graduated from Aomori Yamada High School...
, the voice actress for Tenma, had initially auditioned for the role of Yakumo, and between School Rumbles first and second seasons the voice actors for both Karen Ichijou and Yoko Sasakura were replaced. Mako Sakurai took over Karen's role from Yuuka Nanri
Yuuka Nanri
, commonly referred to as Yuuka, is a seiyū and also a known Japanese pop singer. She is contracted to Space Craft Entertainment of Space Craft Group.-Biography:Yuuka Nanri first debuted on NHK's in 1995, as a child star....
, and Aya Hirano
Aya Hirano
from Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, is a Japanese voice actress and J-pop singer who has had roles in several anime, visual novels, and TV commercials in Japan. She was contracted to Space Craft Produce, a branch of the Space Craft Group, for her voice acting career, and for her singing career,...
replaced Akiko Kurumado as Yoko.
The artbox design for Funimation's North American release of the School Rumble anime resembles a miniature metal locker, and each of the individually released DVDs comes with heavy duty magnets. The discs include subtitled interviews with the Japanese voice actors, which were compiled onto a third DVD for the full first season release. In 2007, Funimation ran a drawing contest prior to releasing the anime in North America. The grand prize included a new computer with software for developing anime and manga. The United Kingdom anime release by Revelation Films
Revelation Films
Revelation Films is a British distributor of entertainment programmes on DVD.It was perhaps most well known as the company through which as of November 2006, the American anime company FUNimation Entertainment has launched its titles in the United Kingdom on region 2 DVD...
saw the same limited edition box as Funimation, along with two standard editions.
Manga
Jin Kobayashi wrote and illustrated both School Rumble and its sequel, School Rumble Z. KodanshaKodansha
, the largest Japanese publisher, produces the manga magazines Nakayoshi, Afternoon, Evening, and Weekly Shonen Magazine, as well as more literary magazines such as Gunzō, Shūkan Gendai, and the Japanese dictionary Nihongo Daijiten. The company has its headquarters in Bunkyō, Tokyo...
's Weekly Shōnen Magazine
Weekly Shonen Magazine
, also known as Shōnen Magazine, is a shōnen manga magazine published by Kodansha, first published on 17 March 1959. Despite some unusual censorship policies , it's mainly read by an older audience, with a large portion of its readership falling under the male high school or college...
first published School Rumble in its 47th issue and serialized it from 2002–2008. It further appeared in issues of Shōnen Magazines , and comprised one chapter of the seasonal . The collected works were released in Japan by Kodansha. A sequel composed of side stories, entitled School Rumble Z, was produced from August 2008 to May 2009. Concluding the series, a compiled volume was released on June 17, 2009.
As a guide to the contents of each chapter, musical notations were added before the chapter number. In School Rumble, chapters marked with a sharp sign
Sharp (music)
In music, sharp, dièse , or diesis means higher in pitch and the sharp symbol raises a note by a half tone. Intonation may be flat, sharp, or both, successively or simultaneously...
(♯) concern the main plot development focusing around Tenma and Harima, while side stories
Side story
A side story is a story that occurs alongside established stories set within a fictional universe. As opposed to a prequel, sequel, or interquel, a side story takes place within the same time frame as an existing work....
dealing with supporting characters are indicated by a flat sign (♭). The one exception to this pattern in the first series is the chapter that appears in Shōnen Magazine Wonder, which uses the natural sign (♮). Because the sequel explores the general relationships of all the characters, School Rumble Z uses the natural sign for every chapter. The manga volumes
Bunkobon
In Japan, bunkobon are small-format paperback books, designed to be affordable and portable.The great majority of bunkobon are A6 in size...
of School Rumble contain original bonus chapters that use no musical notation; these are normally one page in length, but the seventh volume spreads its bonus chapter over several pages with each page telling a self-contained story.
Del Rey Manga
Del Rey Manga
was the manga-publishing imprint of Del Rey Books, a branch of Ballantine Books, which in turn is part of Random House, the publishing division of Bertelsmann. It was formed as part of a cross-publishing relationship with Japanese publisher Kodansha. Some of the Del Rey titles, such as Tsubasa...
, in North America, and Tanoshimi
Tanoshimi
Tanoshimi is a part of Random House a US based publisher. Tanoshimi is an arm of the United Kingdom branch of the company and is used for the publication of new English Language Manga titles...
in the United Kingdom licensed School Rumble for an English-language release. It has also been translated into other languages, although the German-language release which Tokyopop
Tokyopop
Tokyopop, styled TOKYOPOP, and formerly known as Mixx, is a distributor, licensor, and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa, and Western manga-style works. The existing German publishing division produces German translations of licensed Japanese properties and original English-language manga, as well...
initially published was cancelled and later continued by Egmont Manga & Anime
Egmont Manga & Anime
Egmont Manga & Anime is one of the largest publishers of manga in Germany. It was founded in the year 2000 as a daughter company of Egmont Ehapa, after the manga boom in Germany became apparent around the turn of the millennium. Since 2003, EMA has been part of Egmont vgs in Cologne.- History :In...
. Del Rey released the first English-language volume on February 28, 2006, and the latest—volume 12—on April 28, 2009. Following Kondansha's lead, the Del Rey translation places the main plot chapters first followed by the side stories. Del Rey also retained the Japanese naming order to preserve puns and humor involving the names of the characters.
Anime
TV TokyoTV Tokyo
is a television station headquartered in Toranomon, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Also known as , a blend of "terebi" and "Tokyo", it is the key station of TX Network. It is one of the major Tokyo television stations, particularly specializing in anime...
adapted the School Rumble manga for two 26-episode television sketch show series, and five additional episodes. The first season was broadcast in Japan from October 10, 2004 to March 29, 2005, followed by two original video animation
Original video animation
, abbreviated as media , are animated films and series made specially for release in home-video formats. The term originated in relation to Japanese animation...
(OVA) episodes entitled , which were released on December 22, 2005. The second season, , ran from April 2 to September 24, 2006.
Although a third series——was drawn up in the form of 24 episode synopses, the series was never animated. Instead a two-episode mini-series was released as episodes 25 and 26 of School Rumble: Third Semester. The first 24 episodes follow the manga's storyline between the end of School Rumble: 2nd Semester and the Third Semester mini-series; the promotional videos of the mini-series on the anime's website instead of previews of a new season confirmed that the remaining 24 episodes would not be animated. The School Rumble: Third Semester episodes were released with special editions of volumes 21 and 22 of the School Rumble manga, the first on July 17 and the second on September 17, 2008.
School Rumble, School Rumble: 2nd Semester, and School Rumble: Extra Class were later licensed for an English-language audience by Funimation in North America, Madman Entertainment
Madman Entertainment
Madman Entertainment is an Australian company that distributes international films as well as Japanese anime and manga in Australia and New Zealand. The company is owned by Funtastic Limited and is one of the major entertainment companies in Australia. It employs 130 people and has an annual...
in Australasia
Australasia
Australasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes...
and the first three volumes of season one by Revelation Films in the United Kingdom. On September 1, 2009 Funimation re-released School Rumble: First Semester and Extra class as a compilation. 2nd Semester was re-released as an entire season with a new rating of TV MA. The anime has also been released in other languages, and Funimation have made several dub
Dubbing (filmmaking)
Dubbing is the post-production process of recording and replacing voices on a motion picture or television soundtrack subsequent to the original shooting. The term most commonly refers to the substitution of the voices of the actors shown on the screen by those of different performers, who may be...
bed episodes of School Rumble and School Rumble: 2nd Semester available as streaming content on the Internet. The Funimation Channel
FUNimation Channel
The FUNimation Channel is a 24-hour cable network which broadcasts anime series in the United States. OlympuSAT was chosen as the exclusive distributor of the network....
began airing the first season of School Rumble on September 1, 2008.School Rumble: 2nd Semester and the Extra Class OVA has also aired on the Funimation Channel
FUNimation Channel
The FUNimation Channel is a 24-hour cable network which broadcasts anime series in the United States. OlympuSAT was chosen as the exclusive distributor of the network....
. The 2008's Future Film Festival in Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
, Italy screened School Rumble: 2nd Semester.
The anime's first season focuses on Harima, Karasuma, and Tenma, and Harima's relationships with other females including Sawachika and Yakumo. Its second season involves more of the secondary cast. The Extra Class OVAs are compiled from various first season storylines. Both the Third Semester synopses and episodes return to the main cast. The anime's structure has been compared to Azumanga Daioh
Azumanga Daioh
is a Japanese comedy manga by Kiyohiko Azuma. It was serialized by MediaWorks in the shōnen manga magazine Dengeki Daioh from 1999 to 2002 and collected in four bound volumes...
, with thematic influences from Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu
Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu
is a companion series to the anime series Full Metal Panic! by Kyoto Animation, and takes place between the first season and The Second Raid....
. In places it makes deliberate use of unconventional nomenclature; the title of episode 25 of season one is a set of pictogram
Pictogram
A pictograph, also called pictogram or pictogramme is an ideogram that conveys its meaning through its pictorial resemblance to a physical object. Pictographs are often used in writing and graphic systems in which the characters are to considerable extent pictorial in appearance.Pictography is a...
s, while episode 26's title has 187 characters in the Japanese original. In season two, the Japanese title for episode 26 consists of just a period
Full stop
A full stop is the punctuation mark commonly placed at the end of sentences. In American English, the term used for this punctuation is period. In the 21st century, it is often also called a dot by young people...
.
The narrative of the School Rumble anime is designed to mirror that of the manga, which results in multiple short story segments with no significant connection. Shown from the perspective of its characters—notably Tenma and Harima as they attempt similar ploys to get their crush to notice their affection—the anime uses absurdist humor which often combines elements of popular culture to explore the love-triangle, with jokes that work on multiple levels. One such example, highlighted by Lisa Marie, reviewer for Anime Today, is the bike chase scene in episode 1 of season one. She notes that while anyone can appreciate the chase's inherent humor, those familiar with Initial D
Initial D
is a manga by Shuichi Shigeno which has been serialized in Kodansha's Young Magazine since 1995. It has been adapted into a long-running anime series by OB Planning, Studio Comet, Studio Gallop, Pastel, and A.C.G.T, and a live action film by Avex and Media Asia...
will find another level of appreciation that nevertheless does not interfere with viewers who do not catch the deeper reference. Lisa Marie comments "I certainly admit watching an insane bike chase cross paths with Initial Ds famous AE86 has a bit more cachet when you know why there's a cheesily rendered
Computer graphics
Computer graphics are graphics created using computers and, more generally, the representation and manipulation of image data by a computer with help from specialized software and hardware....
race car in slow moving Eurobeat
Eurobeat
Eurobeat is a form of italo-disco/hi-NRG music that developed in the late 1980s.In the United States, Eurobeat was sometimes marketed as Hi-NRG and for a short while shared this term with the very early freestyle music hits....
."
Music
Two anime soundtracks and five maxi singleMaxi single
A maxi single or maxi-single is a music single release with more than the usual two tracks of an a-side song and a b-side song.-The first maxi singles:...
albums based on the anime's opening and closing themes have been released, with all but the second season's closing theme having both a regular and limited edition. In addition, three two-disc drama CDs and three radio dramas have been released on CD. Eight image albums
Image song
An image song or character song is a song on a tie-in single or album for an anime, game or dorama that is usually sung by the seiyū or actor of a character, in character...
—one for each of the main characters—have also been released, in both a regular and limited edition run.
On December 5, 2004, Yokohama BLITZ held a concert entitled , featuring the voice acting cast of School Rumble. The event was released on DVD on March 24, 2005. Announced around the time of the Japanese release of volume 15, from July 21 through July 25, 2005 a stage play called recapping Season 1 of School Rumble was performed. It was released on DVD on October 10, 2005. Unicorn Table, the soundtrack artists for School Rumble, performed songs from the anime from December 7–9, 2007 at the New York Anime Festival
New York Anime Festival
The New York Anime Festival is an anime and manga convention held annually since 2007 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center on the West Side of Manhattan in New York City...
, and again on April 26, 2008 at the Rochester Institute of Technology
Rochester Institute of Technology
The Rochester Institute of Technology is a private university, located within the town of Henrietta in metropolitan Rochester, New York, United States...
in Rochester, New York
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
for the Tora-Con anime convention
Anime convention
An anime convention is an event or gathering with a primary focus on anime, manga and Japanese culture. Commonly, anime conventions are multi-day events hosted at convention centers, hotels or college campuses. They feature a wide variety of activities and panels...
.
Other related media
Three video games based on School Rumble have been developed and released in Japan. Marvelous Entertainment published the first game for the entitled on July 21, 2005. It was later reissued on August 10, 2006, as a The Best range budget release. The Japanese video game magazine FamitsūFamitsu
is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Enterbrain, Inc. and Tokuma. Currently, there are five Famitsū magazines: Shūkan Famitsū, Famitsū PS3 + PSP, Famitsū Xbox 360, Famitsū Wii+DS, and Famitsū Wave DVD...
awarded the game a composite score of 6.8 out of a possible 8.0. Marvelous Entertainment released a second game, entitled on July 20, 2006, also for the PlayStation 2. The story revolves around the School Rumble cast hearing a rumor of treasure hidden within a mansion. Two versions were produced; a regular and a limited edition, the latter of which included a drama CD, memorial album, and a special box with variant cover art. On June 28, 2007, this game was also re-released as a "Best Collection". , published on July 7, 2005 for the PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
by Bandai
Bandai
is a Japanese toy making and video game company, as well as the producer of a large number of plastic model kits. It is the world's third-largest producer of toys . Some ex-Bandai group companies produce anime and tokusatsu programs...
. It has an original story based around Karasuma suffering a sudden collapse. Although the story centers on Tenma, the player can take the perspective of other characters to obtain clues for solving the mystery.
School Rumble has been the basis of two light novels and four guidebooks. The light novels, and , were written by Hiroko Tokita and illustrated by Jin Kobayashi and published in April 2004 and December 2007 respectively. They were later translated by Tong Li Comics
Tong Li Comics
Tongli Publishing Co. , most known as Tong Li Comics, is a publishing company which distributes a variety of domestic and imported comics in the Republic of China .-History:...
into Traditional Chinese. Jin Kobayashi and his editors also wrote and illustrated four official guidebooks for the series: School Rumble: Private File, School Rumble: Official File, School Rumble: Pleasure File, and School Rumble: Treasure File.
School Rumble has spawned lots of merchandise featuring its characters, including T-shirts and figurines.
Fansub controversy
In 2004, School Rumbles Japanese license holder, Media Factory, declared its titles off-limits to fan-made subtitled translations—a practice known as fansubFansub
A fansub is a version of a foreign film or foreign television program which has been translated by fans and subtitled into a language other than that of the original.-History:...
bing. The directory website AnimeSuki
Animesuki
AnimeSuki is a website and "... the largest database of BitTorrent anime shows" that focuses on providing unlicensed anime fansubs using the BitTorrent peer-to-peer system. The website was created by GHDpro on December 26, 2002. Animesuki is not a tracker; instead, it provides links to many...
later removed all links to fansubs of Media Factory's work in response to a cease-and-desist notice issued by the license holder. Media Factory-owned anime has been the subject of debate over the validity of fansubbing practice. Proponents believe School Rumble would have more quickly received an English license had fansubs been allowed to circulate and generate viewer interest.
Sales
The School Rumble manga had a successful sales run in Japan and the North American English market. In Japan, several volumes managed to chart: Volume 13 was the ninth best-selling manga for the week of June 21, 2006, before falling to tenth the following week; Volume 15 reached 4th place for the week of December 20, also falling to 10th the following week; and Volume 17 came 7th for the week of June 20, 2007, subsequently dropping to 9th. Its sequel, School Rumble Z, ranked 18th for the week of June 15, 2009. Del Rey's North American translation sold well, although not quite as well as in Japan. Volume 3 was ranked 99th in September 2006; volume 4 was 96th in December;, volume 5 was 98th in April 2007; volume 12 was 141st in November 2008; and volume 12 was 169th in May 2009. Overall the series ranked as the 145th best-selling English translated manga series for 2008.Similarly, the anime adaptation of School Rumble also sold very well in Japan according to the Oricon
Oricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...
charts. The Japanese DVD release of First Semester saw fluctuating sales for each volume with each charting within the top 45. have the best showings at five times at 15 and twice at 17 respectively, while the final three were the least successful with volume 8 being the lowest ranking twice at 45. While the 2nd Semester continued to sell well, overall sales did not chart as well as the previous season. Most of the DVDs ranked in the a range from 50s to 70s and all of them ranked just twice. Volume 1 ranked the best at 41, followed by volume 4 at 49; volume 6 ranked lowest at 100.
The Extra Class OVA also ranked once at 66.
The DVD of the voice actor's live performance, come! come! well-come Party, ranked once at 177 on Oricon charts.
Manga series
Although generally well-received, the manga has also attracted some criticism. Eduardo M. Chavez, of Mania.com, recalls being initially put off by the title, which for him conjured images of battles more physical than emotional. After glancing through the first volume, he was surprised to find his assumption wrong, and concluded that it was appropriately named. While he gives a largely positive review, Chavez finds the series' artwork "simple" and unimpressive. He notes that the first volume becomes slightly repetitive, so praises the way that Kobayashi introduces new themes to the second, bringing variety to the setting. Remarking on Kobayashi's ability to draw on numerous influences, Chavez applauds the manga artist for finding fresh ways of using old themes, preventing School Rumble from becoming derivative. He reserves his highest praise for the "flat" chapters dealing with Yakumo. In the next two volumes Chavez approves of the mixture of comedy and romance and the way the characters "grow up", although acknowledging that while the manga's style suits his personal preferences it will not be to everyone's taste.Sakura Eries, also of Mania.com, gave volumes five, six, and eight to eleven positive ratings overall. She noted that volume five may appeal to readers more interested in the side characters, and that appreciating Kobayashi's humor in the second half of chapter eight "requires a bit more mental effort". In volume ten, she remarks that while Kobayashi borrows the oft-used cliché of a disastrous school play, he manages to add enough twists to make it unique. The play's climax, however, confused her more than it amused her.
Carlo Santos, of Anime News Network
Anime News Network
Anime News Network is an anime industry news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, Japanese popular music and other otaku-related culture within North America, Australia and Japan. Additionally, it sometimes features similar happenings throughout the Anglosphere and elsewhere in the...
, gave the English releases of volumes two, three, four, and seven mixed—but largely favorable—B-range reviews. Volume nine he awards a C rating. He approved of the character of Harima, particularly enjoying jokes comparing him to St. Francis of Assisi. Santos found the bonus chapters in volumes three and four, that deal with Yakumo, touching. On the other hand, he criticizes various aspects of the artwork and, by volume seven, laments the staleness of recycled jokes. Despite volume nine's strong start, by its end he relates that, although there were some funny moments, he had become weary of its repetitive plot. A fellow reviewer from Anime News Network, Carl Kimlinger, decided after reviewing four volumes that while the early volumes do not assist plot development, neither do they detract from the manga's appeal; he too had a positive impression overall. Kimlinger found the later volumes better and more entertaining, although not always during the romantic moments.
Chavez praised Del Rey's translation for retaining the manga's original identity; the header, bumper artwork, character biographies, and front covers are all but identical to the Japanese. Eries also thanked Del Rey's translation notes for clearing up some misconceptions for her, although she later concluded that their quality has deteriorated as the series progresses.
Anime series
Like the manga, the anime has been well received but does not avoid criticism; in particular the quality of the animation for both seasons, including the OVAs, has attracted mixed reviews. Some of the humor and romantic elements have been derided while the English dubbing and soundtrack have been universally praised. Most reviewers took the position that, even if they dislike certain elements, the series as a whole contains something that makes them want to see more; a view summed up by Chris Beveridge of Mania.com, who writes:Beveridge cautioned that because the anime was designed around the non-linear format of the manga, its transitions might at first be troublesome for the viewer, but by the final volume finds the anime in all its aspects far superior.
While School Rumble is generally recognised as a shōnen title targeting the young male market, Katherine Luther, staff reviewer for About.com
About.com
About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....
, refers to it as a shōjo title aimed at girls and young women. Lisa Marie, reviewer for RightStuf's Anime Today podcast
Podcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
, agrees that others, notably males, might see the series as shōjo. Luther calls the first DVD "the perfect back-to-school accessory", while Marie characterizes School Rumble as "insane", asserting it appears on the surface more laid back than other titles like Excel Saga
Excel Saga
is a manga series written and illustrated by Rikdo Koshi. It has been serialized in Young King OURs since 1996, with individual chapters collected and published in tankōbon volumes by Shōnen Gahosha. The series follows the attempts of Across, a "secret ideological organization", to conquer the city...
and Haré + Guu. However, it uses its "cast to break[...]every rule of reality, but it plays everything so straight [that] it takes you a moment to realize what just happened doesn't make any sense." A fan of the sub-genre, she praises the anime it for its surreal humour
Surreal humour
Surreal humour is a form of humour based on violations of causal reasoning with events and behaviours that are logically incongruent. Constructions of surreal humour involve bizarre juxtapositions, non-sequiturs, irrational situations, and/or expressions of nonsense.The humour arises from a...
, and for being "anime newbie friendly" in that its jokes work on multiple levels. Not all are of Japanese origin—such as a reference to the long triangular resolution of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand and written by George Lucas and Lawrence Kasdan. It is the third film released in the Star Wars saga, and the sixth in terms of the series' internal chronology...
—giving the series broad appeal.
Anime News Network's reviewers found much to enjoy about the first series, although Theron Martin warns that the first DVD should be "watched in small doses, as trying to tackle too much of it in one sitting will elevate the suicide rate of your brain cells". Carl Kimlinger comments that "from the moment the words 'School Rumble' come spinning onto the screen, you know you're in for ... undiluted good times", and that the title is "two of the greatest animation non-sequiturs you're likely to see anytime soon". Carlo Santos praises volume six's bizarre comedy, but laments its romantic elements as being too generic. Overall, his rating is mediocre, saying that "although this disc technically marks the end of [the first season of] School Rumble, it's really more of a pause, seeing as how the last few episodes simply ride along with the plot rather than try to reach a dramatic finish". Reviewers from Mania.com followed this pattern; Dani Moure was skeptical of the series' long-term entertainment value, but like fellow reviewer Danielle Van Gorder, foundhis early indifference fading as the story develops. IGN
IGN
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's Jeff Harris, N.S. Davidson, and David F. Smith gave mostly positive reviews, although Davidson believes the audio and extras had begun to wane by volume five. Jakub Lhota of the Czechoslovak Anime E-Zine rated the first season a 8/10, stating that he enjoyed it more than some other anime series he had previously watched, and the style—if not always the color—of Funimation's metallic locker artbox for School Rumbles English translation of the first season was welcomed.
According to Theron Martin, the OVA series School Rumble: Extra Class was made mostly for devoted fans; claiming that familiarity with the series is almost a necessity before watching it, although he later came to the view that it may also be useful as a sampler of the series. Chris Beveridge gives the OVA series an overall negative review. He did not highlight a single specific reason, instead observing that although all elements that "make the TV series enjoyable are certainly present here, they just feel weaker". However, it did make him want to watch more of the television series, thus serving its intended purpose in keeping interest in the series alive. Katherine Luther endorsed the view that viewers need to be familiar with the story, but reviewed the OVA positively. While she noted lulls in the action, she believes fans will be able to overlook this. Unlike Martin, Luther did not believe the OVA is a good introduction to School Rumble, due to its short sequences and seemingly random nature.
Zac Bertschy of Anime News Network declined to post commentary on the preview announcement for the second season, claiming "we assume if you loved School Rumble, you're gonna check out the sequel regardless of what anyone says, so why bother reviewing it?" David F. Smith from IGN gave the first part of season two a rating of 6/10, with lower scores for the Funimation extras and higher ones for the plot and story. Specifically, Smith praised the anime for never taking itself seriously, and the studio for not cutting its budget for sight gags—something he notes that other companies do. Tim Jones from THEM Anime Reviews found the second season funny and nonrepetitive, and Bamboo Dong of Anime News Network praised the second season for not conforming to the conventions of reality. He complimented it for focusing more on the other students and their relationships than on the main love triangle. Chris Beveridge claimed that, although it comes across well, the season should not be watched in a marathon sitting. He was more critical of Funimation's packaging, preferring the first season's metal locker boxart to the packing for the half-season sets.